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Re: home altar

Originally Posted by lipor

This is my little altar at home...but it is a work in progress, as many as the things I still have to finish :wink:

As my Buddha I chose three stones from my favorite place in town ... they remind me of the three refuges, and the balance with always possibility of falling (which sometimes happens ops: ), the impermanence of things and that everything in this universe actually is sacred.

Re: home altar

Haven’t looked at this thread in a while and I am so inspired…..from the use of old furniture to the simple barebones….ornate it’s all covered here. I’ve been going to get around to an alter for a long time, but got to get busy with it. OK don’t look for anything soon, but it’s going to happen.

Originally Posted by Jigme

Not in the Zen tradition, so I hope you don't mind my sharing. This is the spot
in my home-office where I sit.

Re: home altar

Here's mine, which is very much a work in progress:

The Jizo on the left is a representation of what led me to Buddhism and was one of my birthday presents this year from my husband. The little Jizo on the right is one that I made and I love his simplicity, cheerfulness and little toes! I also made the little lotus flower votive holder, and while it's not perfect, it's pretty and hides the fact that I'm not using a real candle. My husband has a serious fear of fire and I will not scare him with a candle that his OCD will cause him to check on several times a day! The coaster-like item on the left is a stone coaster with a dragonfly on it, and the brown stone on the right by my homemade Jizo is picture jasper which looks as though there's a mountain against a stormy sky. The yellow votive in front of the lotus is a honeysuckle candle and that, and my OM solid perfume is my substitution for incense (for the same reason as the fake candle). The painting of the birch/aspen trees behind the Buddha is another representation of nature (I love trees and those are by far my favourites!) and at the same time, a nod to Treeleaf. And lastly, the elephant simply balances the size of my large Jizo and is safe from breakage from it's previous home.

It took me a long time to find a Buddha I liked that was "correct" in my mind. It is bronze and could be very old, with what I suspect is an artist's mark on the bottom of it. I am very happy with it, while it is not stone as I would have liked (or even a facsimile of stone, such as it is!), it has some weight to it and therefore, substance.

As I said, it is a work in progress. I'm ashamed to say that my altar is built upon a leaf from an old table, which sits upon a cardboard box which sits upon a blue storage tote. We haven't accumulated much furniture since we moved and that was what was necessary to elevate it to the correct height. I hope to design and build my own table/altar for it, and soon! : )

May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind
quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid
and may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power
and may people think of befriending one another.

May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind
quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid
and may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power
and may people think of befriending one another.

Mike, you have a neat looking altar I would like to find a bell like yours but had no luck so far :P

Piobair, I like very much your altar, I am planning a cabinet with doors like that somewhere near this summer, and your garden Buddha is great too, I have one a little different, will post a picture as soon as I get home

I love seeing everybody's altars, each one is so special and unique and beautiful in its own way. I like to collect buddha figures so I have a little display cubes in the wall where I keep some of them. However, I just got a nice wooden table at Winners (discount store in North America) and set up an altar a few weeks ago. And I found my buddha on the way out the store for dirt cheap. I like to think I 'rescued' him

Anyway, here is a picture of my little altar and a picture of the hallway beside it where I (rarely) sit. I need to start sitting daily and work my way up to twice daily. Baby steps :-)

Mike, you have a neat looking altar I would like to find a bell like yours but had no luck so far :P

Piobair, I like very much your altar, I am planning a cabinet with doors like that somewhere near this summer, and your garden Buddha is great too, I have one a little different, will post a picture as soon as I get home

Lipor,

Thanks. They sell them online at a few different stores. PM me if you want the link.

Gassho,

MIke

To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
-Dhp. 183My Practice Blog

Thank you Mike. It's In the Buddha's Words. I just got it a week ago and I want to work my way through it (bit by bit). Although things have been kind of crazy lately with summer school, so "leisure" reading is taking a bit of a hit right now

Thank you Mike. It's In the Buddha's Words. I just got it a week ago and I want to work my way through it (bit by bit). Although things have been kind of crazy lately with summer school, so "leisure" reading is taking a bit of a hit right now

Gassho,
Darrell

Thank you, Darrell. I very much love that book, In The Buddha's Words. Remember that the book expresses the Buddhist Teachings from the South Asian Sutta Tradition, and Buddha and Sutras come in many flavors. All lovely flavors.

Here is a little reading that may help you with a bit of history and tradition as you dive into all these "Same but different, different but just the same" Buddhas and Teachings ...

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1342288678.596463.jpg
Just got my portable altar sorted at last. I have a large Buddha in the centre that I like because he's touching the earth reminding me to always remain grounded in the present, there is almost a smaller Buddha towards the back which I think is more traditional to Zen, he's the guy who comes with me when I'm away from home. There are 2 stones from our local beach one has a hole through it that symbolises an Enso, of course an image of Avalokiteshvara and finally a vanilla scented candle.

Last year my wife suggested that as the practice is such a central part of our lives, we rework and relocate our altar so that it is the central feature of the central room of the house; the "heart" of our home. With the exception of the Buddha, most everything has been gradually accumulated second-hand from thrift stores and whatnot. One of the things I like is the fold-down, slide-out rakuzu drawer.

Last edited by Piobair; 08-04-2013 at 12:38 AM.

May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind
quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid
and may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power
and may people think of befriending one another.

Love it, Piobair, especially the steps up to the Buddha! Now that I have access to wood, I'll need to make something similar.

Gassho,

Lisa

Thank you. The platform was originally cardboard & tape; trimmed and reconfigured until the layout and proportions suited us. The final version is 3/4" and 1/2" oak plywood, with oak veneer edge banding. I was fortunate to find a stain which very closely approximates the table top.

May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind
quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid
and may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power
and may people think of befriending one another.

I figured I would share my new "treeleaf friendly" alter for the start of Ango. The main alter is a cross section of a tree trunk that I stained and sealed. The stand was a cheap beat up flower pot stand. The small table is my laptop/candle/incense table for that hot G+ action!

Gassho, Shawn Jakudo Hinton
It all begins when we say, “I”. Everything that follows is illusion.
"Even to speak the word Buddha is dragging in the mud soaking wet; Even to say the word Zen is a total embarrassment."
寂道

This is my little altar at home...but it is a work in progress, as many as the things I still have to finish :wink:

As my Buddha I chose three stones from my favorite place in town ... they remind me of the three refuges, and the balance with always possibility of falling (which sometimes happens ops: ), the impermanence of things and that everything in this universe actually is sacred.

Of course, Zen is not about furniture or Asian flavor. Even though most Buddhist temples tend to have nice ... unbelievably expensive ... furniture.

On the other hand, it can be about Asian furniture (I have lots in my house, because I live in an old Japanese house).

Putting the Buddha on a delicate Chinese table ... a cheap formica table ... putting Buddha on an old cardboard box ... just the old cardbox box alone ... just emptiness ... all the same really, if the heart is clear.

Gassho, Shawn Jakudo Hinton
It all begins when we say, “I”. Everything that follows is illusion.
"Even to speak the word Buddha is dragging in the mud soaking wet; Even to say the word Zen is a total embarrassment."
寂道